The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the advice the Council gave the complainant or how it dealt with the complainant’s planning application. This is because the complainant could have appealed to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained the Council incorrectly told him he needed planning permission to build an outbuilding in his garden. Mr X has also complained about how the Council dealt with his retrospective planning application. He says there were delays and the case officer failed to respond to his correspondence and requested unnecessary information.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b)) The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about: delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission a decision to refuse planning permission conditions placed on planning permission a planning enforcement notice.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he was wrongly told by the Council he needed to apply for retrospective planning permission for an outbuilding he was constructing in his garden. Mr X says the building was permitted development and therefore he should not have needed to make a planning application. However, Mr X says he felt he had no choice but to make a retrospective application as the Council threatened to take enforcement action.
It is not for the Ombudsman to decide if permitted development rights applied to the development. If Mr X did not agree that planning permission was needed, he could have chosen not to submit an application and appealed to the Planning Inspector if the Council then decided to issue an enforcement notice.
Mr X also could have appealed to the Planning Inspector after eight weeks if he was unhappy with how long the Council was taking to determine his application. I consider it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have used his right of appeal. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal would not have addressed all the issues complained about.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he could have used his right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman